ABSTRACT
Gabra Maskal was the second son of Kaleb and succeeded his brother Beta ’Esra’el probably about 5 50. One King List says that he reigned 14 years, but some think that his reign was much longer, and believe that he did not die until between 570 and 580. He and his brother seem to have resigned themselves to their loss of the overlordship of Yaman, for ’Abreha al-Ashram, who had usurped the sovereignty in Arabia, had begun to attack the Himyarites and others on his own account, and he did not share the loot which he took with the Nagashl. There is little doubt that Gabra Maskal would have gone to Yaman and crushed the usurper, but he had no ships, and there was no one ready to help him in this respect as his father was helped. Thus it fell out that when Justinian applied to him for help in diverting the silk caravans from Arabia to Abyssinia, he was obliged to confess that he had no navy. Gabra Maskal was a devout Christian, and he endowed the Church at Aksum which had been founded by ’Abreha and 'Asbeha (‘Ezana?), with many estates. Two of his great benefactions are described in the Liber Axumae (ed. Conti Rossini, p. 21). His reign was peaceful, and as he conducted no wars trade flourished and the country was prosperous. Thus he had abundant means at his disposal for building churches, and he is said to have built the church of Abba Germa. The Chroniclers relate that during the reign of Gabra Maskal, Yared, the deacon, compiled the great “ Mazgaba Deggwa” or “ Treasury of Hym ns” of the Abyssinian Church. According to a legend he was taken up to Paradise where he learned the “ plain song” of heaven, and when he returned to earth he taught it to the people. He grouped the hymns according to the seasons of the year, and he attached to each hymn notes indicating which of the three tones was to be used in singing it. He had a beautiful voice, and one day when he was singing to Gabra Maskal, the king was so ravished by the sounds that he let his spear drop, and the head of it transfixed Yared’s foot to the ground. Yared was so intent upon his singing that he never noticed
where the head of the spear was until his song was ended. Yared founded the Monastery of Damo, and became an anchorite in the desert of Samen, where he died. For descriptions of the contents of the Deggwa see Wright, Catalogue o f the Ethiopic M S S . No. 174, etc. Gabra Maskal was buried in a tomb near that of Kaleb, and from the colossal size of the sarcophagus, which was seen by Bent (Sacred City, p. 194) and is described in detail by Littmann (.Aksum, Bd. Il), it is thought that he was a man of enormous size. But this is very uncertain, for sarcophagi were made large enough to hold wooden coffins.
